The Volatile Voltron Collection
by Triscribe
Summary: Assorted AU ideas that may never be finished but still deserve to be posted somewhere! Included: Forces of Nature (Magic AU), War of the Myths (Fantasy Creatures AU), One of a Kind (Shiro-is-the-only-human-paladin AU), One Step Forward and Two Steps Back (Champion!Pidge AU), Eight to One (Altean!paladins, human!Alteans AU), and many more...
1. Table of Contents

For those of you who originally favorited/followed my Forces of Magic story, no, you aren't crazy. I, however, have slowly been losing more and more sanity over this show; so, in an attempt to preserve at least a _little_ of it, I'm consolidating all my Voltron AUs into a single place. This is of greater benefit to you, dear readers, because a) no plots will be left dead and alone at two chapters, b) you'll have only one place to go to see other Voltron material I'm coming up with, and c) this way, the chances of enthusiasm for adding more to a previously abandoned plot is much greater! See, we're all winning here. Anywho, on with the

 **TABLE OF CONTENTS**

 **Forces of Magic:** Ages ago, the Galra Druids and Altean Oracles engaged in a war of power that ripped their kingdoms apart. Now, five youths with their own individual magics have awoken the last of the Oracles, and uncovered a vast Druid Empire in the dark places of the world. It's going to take their bonding to a group of powerful spell constructs, the Voltron Lions, to win the day. Magical AU

Chapters: 1, 2

 **War of the Myths:** The Galra Horde, a terrifying army of trolls, have been expanding their territory and enslaving any beings who get in their way. Then a small group of survivors and escapees band together, determined to stop them at all costs. Fantasy Creature AU

Chapters: 3, 4

 **Eight to One:** "My name is Allura Lend, of Planet Earth," she told the group of wary Alteans. "And any enemy of the Galra is a friend of mine."

Chapters: 5, 6

(More to come...)


	2. Ch 1: Forces of Nature, Part 1

_Prologue_

To the far north are the High Plateaus, where the Storm Mages dwell. Below them are the Bone Rock Mountains, beneath which the Earth Seers make their abodes. From these comes the Serpentline River, which then winds through the Deep Growth, home of the Greentenders, and the Midway Plains, where all magicians gather. Further east are the Hearth Vents, from which the Firestarters come, and in the deep south is the Infinite Sea, which the Water Wizards live their lives upon and beside. Lost in the Sea are the two great island kingdoms of Daibazal, home to the Galra Druids, and Altea, home of the Oracles.

Untold ages ago, Galrans and Alteans went to war over a piece of powerful arcane knowledge, the Voltron Spirit Lions. The two kingdoms ripped one another apart, until Altea was destroyed and Daibazal rendered uninhabitable. Their magical advancements were lost, power scattered across the world. But there were those who survived...

King Alfor of Altea used a dangerous spell to place his daughter and oldest friend into deep hibernation, hiding them in the deepest bowels of the island. The Spirit Lions were sent out into the world at large, bidden to keep themselves hidden until such a time as worthy paladins were presented to them. Alfor then perished in combat against his foe, Emperor Zarkon, whose High Druids used foul magic to preserve and strengthen his life force. In the years since, Zarkon has continued to lead his people, building their empire beneath the other regions of the continent, growing in power and darkness, waiting for the day they capture the Lions and begin their final campaign upon the other magicians of the world...

* * *

 _Present Day_

"Amazing," Matt breathed, brushing his fingers against the cave wall. "I know these carvings must be thousands of years old, but they're in such pristine condition!"

"The Galra Druids must have had a way to preserve them with their magic," the youth's father, Sam Holt, agreed. "Shiro, bring the lantern over here if you will, I'd like to make a copy of these." Their guide obliged, stepping closer to cast greater light on the wall carvings.

Several thousand feet below the surface world, the trio had only been journeying into the Underdark for a couple weeks when they discovered the incredible find. No members of the Explorer's Guild had gone quite this deep before, something Shiro initially felt a bit anxious over, but with this archeological breakthrough his spirits were bolstered. He knew the pair of Greentenders would want to keep checking out the surrounding area in the hopes of locating more such carvings, but if they found nothing else in a few days he'd carefully suggest returning to the surface.

A sudden skittering noise caught the young Storm Mage's attention.

"What was _that?"_ Matt asked, looking around the dark tunnel.

"Some kind of large insect, it sounded like," Sam answered, pausing his copying spell.

"Somehow, I don't think we want to run into anything that actually lives down here. Come on, let's head back to camp for the next-" Shiro was cut off when the tunnel rumbled, and far off in the darkness a strange purple light burst into existence.

His inner magic tingled with an unpleasant warning, and the next that Shiro knew he was pushing the pair of Greentenders in the opposite direction, shouting for them to run.

It did no good.

The purple energy blasted outwards, reaching them in a manner of moments and swiftly subduing the three explorers...

* * *

 _Chapter 1_

"This is a bad idea." Pidge stated flatly.

"This is a _great_ idea!" Lance returned, not even bothering to look at his diminutive friend. "Besides, it's too late for you to complain now, Hunk's already in position." And sure enough, across the marketplace from them, the Earth Seer was waving to indicate his readiness. Both Lance and Pidge, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, readied their weaponry. A few moments later, Hunk nonchalantly began to stroll towards them past the rows of market stalls, barely hiding his grin.

Suddenly, there was a shout from one row he'd just passed, and the youth started running. After him came a group of four young men, notorious bullies who'd outright take small things from the market vendors because they were training to be city guards.

"Wait for it..." Lance murmured, eyes narrowing as he gauged the distance between Hunk and the jerks. "Wait for iiiittt- NOW!" He and Pidge both leapt from their hiding place in the alleyway. Hunk thundered past, and then the pair unleashed their homemade bombs. The dried gourds sailed away, colliding solidly with the front two bullies and exploding, coating the entire group in a mixture of manure and swamp muck.

"Yes!" Crowing their victory, the trio of teens took off before they could be caught.

Somehow, by dint of having previous experience being picked on by that same group, Lance, Hunk and Pidge had all fallen in together exacting revenge and pre-emptive justice. The lanky Water Wizard had come to Midway City in hopes of joining the vary same garrison, only for those bullies to have sabotaged him and gotten the younger boy tossed out. Hunk arrived mere days later with the same goal in mind, but after meeting and befriending Lance, decided to change his career goals. The boys spent several weeks sharing the attic room of Hunk's cousin's house, working odd jobs around the city and pooling their resources. Then they'd stepped in when Pidge was about to be pounded by the same group for not doing what they said, and the Dastardly Duo became a Triumphant Trio.

"Okay," the tiny Greentender panted as soon as they came to a stop several city blocks away. "Next time, we strike from above, make the get-away easier."

"Aw, but then they won't know who hit 'em." Lance whined.

"We're the only people stupid enough to prank those guys, you dork, I think they'll know."

"Hmph."

"Well, _whatever_ we plan next, it's gonna have to wait." Hunk nodded to where the sun was almost directly overhead. "Tunk's expecting us back for lunch." With that, the boys set off for the large earthen dwelling at the edge of the city where extended members of the Earth Seer's family lived and put up with their presence.

They never did get there.

A rumbling started up in the distance, and just when everyone in the area was looking about with confusion, something exploded in the grassy plain north of the city. Plumes of black smoke started up, laced through with wild bursts of an unknown purple energy. Some people started to scream and run back into the main section of Midway, while others, such as Lance, Hunk, and Pidge, went to get a closer look.

Garrison guards soon arrived and blocked off the area, ordering citizens back to their homes, but not before the trio of boys clearly saw some form of metallic monster laying where it had come _out_ of the ground.

"Hunk, was that some sort of Earth Seer thing?" Lance asked, he and the others hiding as close to the site as they could.

"Nuh-uh, we don't do metal-crafting that big. Hey, guys, don't you think we should go mind our own business...?"

"No, look!" The other two followed Pidge's pointing finger, frowning when they recognized the Explorer's Guild symbol on the capes worn by incoming men and women. "If they've got the Guild coming to investigate, it's got to be something from the Underdark."

Hunk and Lance exchanged wary glances. When they first met Pidge, the kid had been trying to enlist with the Explorer's Guild, only to be turned down because of his age. Mentioning the group was, as they'd discovered, an open invitation for the Greentender to launch into a passionate rant, just as bringing up the Underdark sent him into a gloomy, unpleasant mood dangerous to intrude upon.

Neither of the older boys knew just what it was that caused their small friend to have such reactions to the greatest gathering of magicians in the land or the caverns situated deep beneath the surface, but they weren't stupid enough to disturb the wasp nest by asking.

"We need to figure out what they're hiding," Pidge murmured, watching intently as the cordon of guards was tightened even further.

"Yeah, but to do that we'd have to get inside. Maybe some disguises, or better yet a distraction-" No sooner had the word left Lance's mouth than several more explosions went off further afield, attracting a great deal of the guards' attention and drawing a fair number of them away.

"More underground monsters?" Hunk asked.

"No- no, those _were_ a distraction - for him!" Again, Pidge pointed out someone approaching the initial site, moving stealthily and wearing dark red clothing.

"Oh, heck no!" Lance suddenly spat. "That guy is always trying to one-up me!"

"You know who that is?"

"Keith!"

"Keith? Are you sure?" Hunk peered more intently at the figure, almost missing when Lance stood and started running.

"I'd recognize that ponytail anywhere!"

"Wait, who's Keith?" As Hunk took off after Lance, Pidge scrambled to follow, thoroughly bewildered.

By the time they reached the strange metallic vehicle, the mysterious Keith was already coming back out, holding up an unconscious man whom Lance also recognized.

"Nope, no, nuh-uh, you are _not_ getting this one!" The Water Wizard announced, dashing up and taking the man's other arm across his own shoulders. " _We're_ rescuing Takashi Shirogane, thank you very much!"

"Uh, who are you?" Keith asked. Lance visibly deflated.

"Dude, we were training to join the garrison at the same time - Lance and Keith, you know, neck and neck to be the best?"

"Sorry, not ringing any bells."

"Oh for cryin' out loud-"

"Guys we don't have time for this!" Hunk called out, noting the swarms of guards and Guild members streaming back towards them.

"Come on, then." Keith led them back the way he'd come, to where a pair of horses were waiting with a wagon. Hunk belatedly asked if they could hitch a ride, but Pidge had already clambered aboard with Lance handing their unconscious cargo up while Keith jumped onto the driver's bench.

They started moving just as several guards on horseback came around the boulder formation. Then, things got a little crazy.

"Big man, you're an Earth Seer, right?" Keith called out at one point, just as he steered the horses to bring them into the canyon system that lined the city's eastern edge.

"Y-yes!"

"Then start bringing down some rocks behind us already!" Gulping, Hunk reached out with his magic, feeling for loose stones above them. As soon as the wagon had cleared one particular pile, he pulled the whole lot down, causing a small avalanche that forced several of the guards to pull up short. A couple others kept coming, though, and Hunk was losing his concentration to queasiness from Keith's wild steering.

"Can't these horses go any faster!" Lance yelled.

"Well, if we lost some unnecessary weight-"

"Oh, ha ha, I see, very fun- whoa whoa whoa, wait! Slow down! That's a right angle turn!"

"Yep." Impossibly, Keith urged the horses to run even faster, causing the three boys behind him to scream and the guards several yards back to slow down.

But then, the youth held out his hand, generating a small fireball. With a whoop, Keith launched it forward, sending the thing into some sort of pre-made sensor on the cliff before them. A hidden door opened just long enough for them to zoom through, then closed in the astonished faces of the pursuing guards.


	3. Ch 2: Forces of Nature, Part 2

_Chapter 2_

"It was the Druids of Galra."

At Shiro's words, the younger magicians all exchanged uneasy looks. "...Are you sure?" Lance was the first to ask. "They were supposed to have been wiped out with the Alteans thousands of years ago-"

"Trust me." Shiro said, bitterly clenching his metal fist. "At least a few of them survived, and now there's an entire Empire of Druids growing in the Underdark."

The replacement arm had been a bit of a surprise when their rescued explorer woke up and met everyone. It looked more like an armored gauntlet than anything else, but functioned like a proper limb and had an undeniable magical aura all its own.

Shiro explained that his last journey to the Underdark had not, in fact, been lost due to his or the Holts' carelessness, which was the tale the Explorer's Guild had clung to for the past year. Instead, the trio had been captured by a supposedly extinct race of magicians, interrogated, and separated from one another after the experiments began. That was as much as the man could recall, as his own magic blocked off the rest of the (obviously traumatic) memories.

"And, they're getting ready to attack the surface world?" Hunk asked nervously.

"Yeah. Have been for a while, or so I gathered, but they're still trying to find some sort of weapon first - something called 'Voltron'."

Keith stiffened.

When Lance noticed and asked why, the other youth revealed to them his crudely drawn map of the territory around Midway City, and all the meticulous notes about a cave he'd found that resonated with some seriously impressive magical energies. And among the repeated carvings of a lion design, he'd found the same word translated into numerous regional dialects, including one version of it in the common tongue: Voltron.

Shiro and the others immediately insisted he lead them there.

A couple hours later saw them all trekking through more canyons and tunnels, finally reaching Keith's cave.

"Amazing," Pidge breathed, fingers lightly brushing one particular rendition of five lions within the points of a pentagram. "These carvings have been here for who knows how long, but they're in such pristine condition..." No one else noticed the odd look Shiro sent in the small Greentender's direction.

"I don't know about you guys, but this all seems kinda creepy to me," Lance muttered, tapping on another carving himself. Suddenly, all the symbols on the walls lit up with blue light, and the energies in the cave trembled with anticipation.

"What-AHHHHHH!" Five voices screamed as the ground beneath their feet crumbled away, dropping the entire group into a roaring underground river. Before Lance or anyone else had time to do anything, though, they were just as suddenly deposited into a much quieter pool.

"I so did not need a bath today," Hunk groaned, pulling himself out of the shallow water and onto solid stone. "Lance, can you please dry us off?"

Shaking his own wet hair, the lanky youth went ahead and mumbled a spell to evaporate the water from everybody's clothes. He received several muttered 'thank you's before looking around the new cavern they'd found themselves in.

Far off to one side was a small altar surrounded by some sort of blue shield.

As the others picked themselves up and saw it too, Lance led the way over, feeling some sort of pull to whatever was within the shield. Keith, with his slightly quicker strides, got there first, and tapped on it before peering inside.

"Huh," he said. "Just looks like some sort of lion figurine." Curious, Lance placed his own hands on the magical shield in order to get a close look too. Only a split second after his skin came in contact with it, though, the shield vanished, and he nearly fell onto the altar with the sudden loss of support.

"Smooth, Lance." Pidge muttered. The older boy ignored him in favor of bending down to look the little lion figurine in the eye. It was a highly detailed statue, small enough to be held with one hand, and painted over with more shades of blue paint than he could name.

"Sooo... Is this thing the weapon? Voltron?" As soon as he said that final word, the figurine began to glow.

"Not again!" Hunk yelped, holding up his hands to shield himself. Rather than explode or do anything else dangerous, though, the lion simply became animated. It shook itself out, stretched, even yawned, before inspecting them all with an indifferent air. Except, after looking over the others, it turned to Lance and seemed to become much more interested. In fact, the statue jumped up and flew to hover in front of his face. Bewildered, the Water Wizard didn't have time to move before a tiny stone nose was touched to his own.

There was a flash of blinding light, and then it wasn't a statue in front of Lance.

It was a six foot tall, see-through blue lion made up of crackling magical energy.

"Whoa," Keith breathed. Shiro, Pidge and Hunk all remained silent, staring at the powerful being with awe. Lance, on the other hand, promptly began _cooing_ over the creature.

"Oh, aren't you just _beautiful!_ My favorite color! And you've got actual fur!" He ran his hands over the lion's nose and forehead, causing it to start purring.

"Lance," Pidge said in a strangled voice. "Stop that. It's an intensely powerful magical construct, _not_ a pet for you to cuddle with."

"You mean _she's_ an intensely powerful magical construct, and a kitty who just wants some cuddles, aren't you?" Lance continued to stroke and scratch every part of the lion he could reach, which set the creature to purring louder and rubbing against him.

"I've never seen anything like this," Shiro muttered, stepping forward to study the lion more closely. She promptly halted in her joyful acceptance of Lance's ministrations, turning to stare down the man. Then, her entire figure started to glow brighter and brighter.

"Uh-oh," was all Hunk had time to mutter, before the entire lot of them were engulfed in a large blue sphere, which floated up from the cave floor before diving into the water pool. Everyone screamed, Lance loudest of all, before realizing that they were still breathing within the bubble even as it traveled down an underground river.

"Please tell me someone has control over what this thing's doing!" Pidge shouted, clutching onto his satchel with one hand and Lance's shoulder with the other.

"Sorry!" The Water Wizard yelped. "All she's saying is that she needs to take us someplace!"

"Wait, what? It's talking to you?"

"Well, yeah, can't you guys hear her?"

"No!" Four voices yelled, just as the sphere took an upward swing, bursting out of a well and into the open air, startling a farmer at the same time.

"Loggerston?" Shiro gaped at the small town just visible off to their right. "We're almost fifty miles away from Midway City!"

"And about to hit open ocean!" Pidge added, looking ahead to the massive band of blue on the horizon.

"Oh, no no no-!" They didn't have time to ask what the matter with Lance was before the sphere put on a new burst of speed, almost eagerly diving into the ocean as soon as they cleared the beach.

"Is it just me," Keith asked, the blue glow around them brightening. "Or is this thing drawing power from the water?"

"As long as she keeps the water _outside,_ that's what I care about." Pidge blinked at Lance, and then started to grin.

"Oh, this is priceless," the Greentender chuckled. "Can't swim, can you?"

"'Course I can. I just don't like to." The others all blinked at the nervous Water Wizard, who sat in the very center of the bubble with his eyes screwed shut.

"It's okay, buddy," Hunk said, patting Lance's shoulder. "I can't stand heights. Get an upset stomach any time I'm more than ten feet off the ground."

"Then I'm very grateful we didn't get higher than that over solid land."

"Whoa..." At Keith's quiet word, the rest of the youths all lifted their gazes to peer ahead. And there, just becoming visible through the gloom of the ocean water, was a dark landmass.

"Uh... I thought the Infinite Sea was, y'know, infinite. And empty." Hunk said nervously.

"Not quite," Shiro murmured, eyes narrowing. "The civilizations might have destroyed themselves in their war, but the islands of Altea and Daibazal are still out here."

"So, um, which one are we heading to?" The bubble was finally starting to lose some of its rapid speed, curving around the mass of rock to an underwater tunnel opening. It slipped inside, rose and gently emerged into a large cavern. There, the five magicians were finally released, as their transport returned to the form of a rather smug-looking lion.

"Oh, don't look so happy with yourself," Lance grumbled, poking the construct's flank. She flicked her tail at him, before turning to lead the way through the cavern to an ornate gateway at the far end.


	4. Ch 3: War of the Myths, Part 1

_Chapter 1_

"We'll be moving on from these lands now, to visit the Wolf Clan by the base of the mountains," Marashi explained. "You are welcome to join us, my friends."

"Appreciate the offer, but we're fine where we are." Sam reached up to grasp the centaur's hand, smiling as he did so. "It was a distinct pleasure to share our woodlands with you, Marashi."

"And we hope you return someday," his wife Anne added, with a glance to where her children were still saying goodbye to one of the younger centaurs. "We kitsune might like to keep our families small, but friends are gifts to be treasured."

Several yards away, young Takashi grinned as he clapped Matt on the shoulder. "Maybe next time we visit, you'll actually be able to beat me in a race, Holt."

"Ha! Just you wait, Shirogane, I'll be so fast you'll only be able to see my tail disappearing into the distance." The kitsune chuckled.

"I can't wait. And as for you, little one," he bent down to look more fully in tiny Katie's eyes. "Keep your brother in line for me, yeah?"

The little girl giggled, reaching up to tug on his long tufts of black hair.

"Her keep _me_ in line? Pretty sure you got that backwards, Shiro."

"Nah, I can tell already she's gonna be the responsible one in this family." Takashi winked at the six year old, prompting her to jump forward and hug his forelegs. "Take care, guys."

"Bye bye, Shiro!"

"So long, you dork."

With that, the centaur returned to his father Marashi's side, and then the herd leader called out to his people. Within moments, all fifty of the massive beings were starting off, galloping away from the woodlands and across the plains. Matt stayed put for a long while, watching one particular figure for as long as he could, and spotting a final wave just before his friend vanished over a rise.

"Mattie? We go play now?"

"Yeah, Katie, we can go play.

-WM-

The trolls had come out of nowhere.

" _Matthew, take your sister and run!"_

It had been just another evening for the Holt family, enjoying their meal, letting Katie play with whoever's tail caught her attention. Then the birdsong faded away, and the wind seemed to die.

" _Don't let any of the fox-folk escape! I want them alive!"_

Sam had been the first to note something wrong, and shifted to his animal form in order to better sniff their surroundings. He suddenly changed back, ordering the children to run just as a group of massive, violet skinned monsters leapt out of the brush.

" _You pathetic creatures are now the property of the Galra Horde."_

Matt had grabbed Katie and fled. They dashed first into the den, slipping out the rear exit just in time to hear their parents' furious snarls die away, and the leader of the trolls pronounce them to be 'property'. Knowing better than to stick around, the two disappeared into the woods as silently as they knew how.

Which resulted in the pair finding themselves in an unfamiliar section of forest, alone, with no idea of what to do without their mother and father.

"M-matt?"

"Shh, it's okay, Katie. It'll be okay, I promise. I'll take care of you."

-WM-

"Ugh." Stomping into camp, Katie deposited her pair of rabbits by the fire ring, before flopping down across her brother. The sleeping kitsune awoke with a start, flailing for a moment before realizing that the sudden weight on his back was, in fact, his twelve year old sister.

"Would it be too much to ask that you wake me up in a normal manner?" Matt asked with amusement.

Katie thought about it for a few seconds. "Yes."

"Ah. Then I won't ask."

-WM-

"What was the name of that centaur we played with when we were kids?" Startled by the question, Matt glanced up to where his sister lounged on a tree branch.

"Takashi Shirogane. But I usually called him Shiro."

"Whatever happened to him and his herd?"

"Dunno. They left for the mountains when I was fifteen, and you were six, and we never did hear from them again."

"Do you think the Galra got them?"

Stiffening, Matt tried to avoid thinking about his old friend being captured by the horrible trolls. Within the span seven years, the Galra Horde had expanded their territory by many dozens of miles, enslaving any and all beings in their way. The last two Holts had been forced to move further and further away from the woodlands where they'd been born, always keeping a step ahead of the raiding parties. "I- I don't know. But, it would be a lot harder for those monsters to take on a herd of fifty centaurs then a family of four kitsune."

Katie studied him for a few minutes as Matt prepared their dinner. "Maybe we should go looking."

"Looking? What, for the centaurs?"

"Yeah. I mean, I might not remember much about them, but Mom and Dad were friends with the leader, right?"

"Right... He was Shiro's father."

"Well, all the more reason to go find them. If their herd is still free and fighting off the Galra, then maybe they'd accept us. We could help with hunting, act as scouts, and in exchange we wouldn't be alone anymore. And," she added with a sly grin. "You'd get to hang out with _Shiro_ again."

Which, admittedly, all sounded wonderful.

"...I'll think about it. Now, are you going to help me with these pheasants or not?"

"I'm just fine up here."

"Hm. Maybe you should have been born with a _squirrel_ tail instead of a fox's..."

"Hey!"

-WM-

Fighting back tears, Katie crouched underneath the bushes in her animal form. Only a few yards away, Galra trolls were dropping her bound and beaten brother into a cage on wheels, laughing about the 'pitiful' struggle that he put up.

The fight had already ended by the time Katie returned to camp, and sadly, she knew she was no match for the half a dozen trolls present. Forcing herself to remain calm, the girl began silently following the Galra, biting back growls whenever they were too rough with Matt. Then they reached the cage, and left the forest behind. Still, with her small form, Katie was able to continue tracking them, remaining in the tall grasses of the plains the raiding party traveled through. Eventually they reached a road, joining up with several other trolls who were all headed south. Katie kept as close as she dared to the cage containing her brother, but it got harder and harder the further they went.

And then, the young kitsune was forced to stop.

Spanning the entire width of a river canyon, the fortress was a massive assortment of walls, watchtowers, barracks buildings and storehouses, all crafted from beaten metal and piled earth. Several mine entrances dotted the cliffs, along with factories powered by the flowing water. Thousands of trolls filled the place, along with more slaves that Katie could count.

There was no way she'd be able to sneak inside.

The girl slipped away, back into the fields until she was utterly alone, and sobbed until she collapsed from exhaustion.


	5. Ch 4: War of the Myths, Part 2

_Chapter 2_

Stretching his arms out with a yawn, Lance took another few moments to shake himself awake before diving into the frigid river. The nixie took a few minutes to simply swim around, idly following the current's flow as dawn was still breaking over the surrounding fields. Eventually, he turned his attention to actually catching some fish for breakfast. Those that he snagged and deemed to be sufficiently big enough were tucked into the nixie youth's woven bag, while the ones that were too small got released.

One decent sized trout darted past him, and Lance eagerly gave chase, knowing it would be the last thing he had to catch for the morning. This fish, though, wasn't going down without a fight, and it took a good five minutes for Lance to be able to sink his claws into the stupid thing. He whooped, the sound distorted by the water around him, and headed towards the nearest bank.

When he broke the surface, though, the nixie found himself stopping short.

A huge log with lots of gnarled branches was washed up on the muddy shore, probably deposited there by the massive storm that had passed through the night before. And caught in the things' limbs was a pale figure.

Cautiously swimming closer, Lance took in what features he could: long strands of sodden brown hair, tangled around the branches; ripped and stained clothing clearly meant for warmer climates, overlaid on light skin with a fair number of nasty cuts and scratches. The identifying features, though, were the brown and orange ears emerging from the hair, along with the long limp tail.

Lance had never met a kitsune before, but before becoming separated from his family he'd heard them described in plenty of stories. And from what he could remember, they were decent, if exceptionally shy, people.

It took a good half hour, but eventually he was able to get the kitsune loose from its predicament without causing any new injuries. Well, none besides cutting most of the hair off - those brown locks were pretty badly tangled amongst the gnarled bark. He then positioned the kid over his shoulder, careful to avoid having any of his fins or frills jab into already bruised flesh.

Kitsune suitably arranged and breakfast bag hanging from his belt, Lance set off for home.

-WM-

Hunk had been having a really nice dream about his mother's specially prepared sweet grass dishes when something pointy jabbed into his side. Snorting, the minotaur reluctantly woke up, blinking as he turned in Lance's direction.

Then he registered just what his best friend was holding, and instantly, Hunk was awake.

"What the-?"

"Kitsune," the nixie cut his question off, turning to step over to his own sleeping pallet. "Found it trapped in a tree that got knocked in the river by the storm."

"Oh." Hunk stood up and shuffled closer to get a better look. "Is it okay?"

"Aside from being half-drowned and missing a lot of blood, you mean?"

"Oh," the young minotaur repeated, immediately heading for their supply stockpile at the back of the cave. He opened up the bag containing some medical supplies, and brought back several rolls of cloth bandages as well as a jar of healing salve. While Lance took a seat to eat his breakfast of raw fish, Hunk went ahead and starting treating their new guest.

There were a few awkward moments, such as when he pulled off the kid's ruined garments and realized she was a girl. As quickly as he could, Hunk replaced the ripped clothing with his smallest spare shirt, which went down to the kitsune's knees. He was very grateful at first that she remained unconscious through the process, but then grew concerned over the same thing.

"Do you think she'll wake up soon?"

"Dunno," Lance answered, chucking away the last of his fishbones. "Dealing with drowned people isn't really my specialty."

Grumbling worriedly, Hunk bundled the tiny kitsune in their thickest blanket and moved her to rest in a spot where sunlight trickled in to warm the cave. Then he grabbed a basket of corn cobs for his own morning meal, and settled down to wait.

-WM-

 _Settling into a decent-sized tree's branches for the night..._

 _Shivering as the wind picked up, and rain started to come down..._

 _Screaming as the entire tree tipped over, dropping off the collapsing cliff and into the water-_

Eyes snapping open with a gasp, she tried to escape the tight confines of whatever cocoon pinned her in place. It took large hands batting at her shoulders to get her to emerge from the panicked frenzy.

"-kay, really! You're fine! Please calm down!" A dark colored minotaur wearing a dull yellow headband was pleading with her, looking almost as frantic as she felt.

"W-what-? Who-?"

"It's okay, we're friends," the minotaur said, holding his hands up in plain sight and leaning back.

"What he said!" She snapped her head around at the sound of a second voice, to spot a blue and brown scaled nixie sitting a few feet away, munching on-

She sniffed the air.

- _fish._

Both strangers yelped when she lunged towards the nixie, startling him into falling over backwards. She ignored him in favor of snatching up the half-eaten trout and biting in. Only once every last morsel had been stripped from the bones did she look up again.

The nixie and minotaur had come together to stand warily at the opposite edge of the cave, staring at her. "Uh... Guess you were hungry, huh?" The latter asked with a wavery chuckle.

"Guess so. Sorry for scaring you." She looked around the cave, eyes widened hopefully. "Is there anything else to eat?"

"That was my last fish," the nixie told her, "but my friend's got some dried stuff in storage..."

"Like what?"

"Sweet grass, for one thing." Talking about food seemed to help the minotaur calm down a bit. "Corn cobs, wheat sheafs, rock potatoes, a couple kinds of mushrooms-"

"I like mushrooms!"

"Okay then!"

As his friend headed off to fix her a proper meal, the nixie took a few cautious steps closer. "I'm Lance, by the way, and he's Hunk. What's your name, short stuff?"

"I-" She stalled. "I... I don't know."


	6. Ch 5: Eight to One, Part 1

Chapter One

Keeping her steps light and silent, she hurried down the empty corridor. The Galra who'd set her free said there were escape pods not too far away - all she had to do was get to them before any guards arrived. Hopefully, the nearby explosions would be a big enough distraction to buy her the time she needed.

The sudden sound of blasters firing behind her nixed that particular hope.

Right hand igniting with power, she caught hold of a piece of wall panel, ripping it away with the momentum of her turn and hurling it back at the guard drones in one smooth motion. Two of the three were knocked down, but the third was standing far enough removed from the others that it kept firing. One lucky shot caught her in the chest, and she fell with it, trying to ignore the burning punch of impact. The drone came closer, clearly intending to check if its target was still alive. She let it get close before lunging upright, impaling it with her glowing fist.

There was no time to catch her breath, though, as incoming footsteps indicated more guards would soon be arriving.

Forcing herself upright again, she ran onwards, towards the row of airlock doors that were just visible at the end of the hallway. Barely slowing down, she threw herself into the first open one, only just beating the new volley of laser fire.

"Better hope this works," she mumbled under her breath, setting her prosthetic limb on the control panel. As promised, a launch code downloaded itself from one into the other, and the pod began to slide out of its docking bay. She fell back into the pilot's seat, shaking with the nearness of impeding freedom. Her pod shot outward into space, destination coordinates appearing on one of the display consoles.

An alarm sounded, right as huge lasers from the ship's cannons streaked by her viewscreen. Throat seizing in alarm, she tried to grab at the steering controls, desperate to avoid being hit, disabled, _recaptured-_

Instead, one close shot managed to graze them, rattling the little pod and nearly throwing her from her seat. There was no time for anything else to happen, however - despite being through slightly off course, the pod still sped up into hyperspace.

She didn't get to see it - her head had hit the edge of the console, knocking her into unconsciousness.

-Voltron-

The incoming arrival of a ship of Galra origins to the planet Arus did not go unnoticed - by the local people, yes, who were asleep in their homes at the time, but not by the alien castle that stood upon the green world.

Systems that had waited silently in stand-by mode for millennia booted up when the sensor network screamed about an invader. Life support, weaponry, medical, one after another the vital networks came online, ready to resume duty in the war against the Galra.

Then, the command was generated to open the cryo-pods.

-Voltron

 _Flames everywhere, ships and laser fire screaming through the skies, bodies lying still in the streets-_

" _Mattan! Take your sister and get to the Castle! Your friends are waiting for you there!"_

" _But-"_

" _Father, we're not leaving you!"_

" _You must. I love you, my children - which is why you MUST escape even if I do not."_

" _No!"_

" _Katlyn, come on-"_

" _I REFUSE to leave! We will fight Iver together, as a family- Father, you promised-!"_

" _I'm sorry."_

Katie's eyes snapped open, and she lurched forward with a gasp. "Father-!"

Strong arms caught her before the girl could hit the ground, and when she looked up, Shiro was there. The other Altean appeared so much older than he was supposed to with the scar across his face and grief in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Princess," he murmured.

"Katlyn!" In a moment, Shiro had released her and stepped back, so that her brother Matt could embrace her himself. By this time, Katie's shock had abated enough that she started to cry.

"What happened?" She demanded. "What did he do?"

"We've been in stasis, Katie," Matt told her, his voice thick. "For ten thousand years."

She heard the words, but couldn't believe them. Around the room, it looked like her friends were having just as hard a time coming to grips with their long sleep. The twins Acxa and Keithiek were standing with their shoulders pressed against one another, hands clasped around the weapons hanging from both their respective waists. Nearby, best friends Lance and Hunk were sitting together on the floor, tears flowing down both their faces.

A hand settled on Katie's shoulder, and she twisted in place to see the eldest of their number.

"I'm afraid we have much to do, Princess," Lady Honerva said quietly. "And at the top of the list is discovering just what has triggered our awakening at this time."

Wiping away the remainder of her tears, Katie nodded. She pulled back from her brother's embrace, noticing for the first time that their pair of pet doshmims had been sitting on her feet.

"Come, Rover," Katie commanded. The green and grey feline complied instantly, easily leaping up to perch upon his master's shoulder, Gunther making an identical jump to Matt's. "Let's go see what shape the Castle is in."

-Voltron-

Groaning, she opened her eyes, frowning at the sensation of something crusty covering her forehead. It took a couple tries for her left hand to respond well enough to reach up and feel; the substance turned out to be dried blood, covering the area between her hairline and the bridge of her nose.

Metal had twisted around where she lay in the remains of the pilot seat, all of the escape pod's systems offline. Biting back a curse, she began shoving at the wreckage with her right hand. In time, she was able to clear a decent path to the place where moonlight was peeking in from some holes in the roof of the craft. There, she lit up the limb, and used it to alternate punching and ripping through the weakened structure.

When there was finally a big enough hole, she clambered through it, falling gracelessly to the ground outside.

It was a beautiful world she'd landed on - lots of green hills and fields, a river not too far away. It could almost be Earth if not for the _two_ moons in the sky, and all the unfamiliar constellations.

She just laid still for a while, slumped against the side of the escape pod. Her stomach rumbled at one point, but she didn't have the energy to stand, let alone go searching for something edible.

Only the whine of an approaching engine roused her to move.

Rolling over, she forced herself to crawl to a spot where she could peer around the side of the pod and see who was coming. Some sort of small aircraft was carefully setting itself down nearby - white and blue, with no markings like anything she'd seen from her time as a Galra prisoner. When it stopped, the roof shimmered before fading away, and several aliens emerged.

They looked nearly human, surprisingly.

Two had lavender-colored skin and dark blue, possibly purple hair, along with respective red and purple markings underneath their eyes. A third, taller and more muscular with tan skin, had a lighter shade of violet for his markings, and fancier detailing on his uniform. The fourth who got out, by comparison, looked like a child - small of size, with bright green markings and long, fluffy brown hair pinned back by a tiara.

It was this last one whom the others surrounded as they approached the pod, and who spoke first.

"Certainly not the warship my brother predicted," she said, in a voice both female and _definitely_ too young to be considered full grown.

"Still, an escape pod means that more Galra will be coming," the lean one with red markings pointed out.

His similar-looking double nodded in agreement. "We'll either need to restore the Castle's cloaking capabilities or else remove ourselves from this planet, your highness."

The small one hummed under her breath, before glancing up at the tallest alien. "Shiro?"

"I think," he said slowly, "That we need to find whoever had been in this pod before we choose a course of action - especially since I think they've been listening to us this whole time."

Instantly, the other three stiffened, their eyes all scanning the immediate area.

Behind the pod, the escapee forced herself to stand.

"You're not with the Galra, I'm guessing." Her call caused all of them to zero in on her position, the female alien with dark purple markings taking aim with her small blaster.

"No, we aren't. Step to where we can see you, please." Despite the polite phrasing, the small one's words were definitely a command.

Taking a deep breath, she shuffled around into their line of sight, still supporting her weight by keeping one hand on the wall of the pod. The aliens all assumed stances that she figured would let them easily leap into combat or evasion more, whichever proved necessary.

"Any enemy of the Galra is a friend of mine," she told them. "My name is Allura Lend, of Planet Earth." And then she collapsed.


End file.
